They stepped through the portal.
And something went wrong.
—
There was no sense of transition this time.
No brief distortion.
No moment to adjust.
Reality… snapped.
—
Sunny's vision fractured.
For a split second, he saw too much—
A forest.
A battlefield.
Endless shadows tearing at screaming figures.
Then—
Everything collapsed.
—
He landed.
Hard.
—
The air tore into his lungs like broken glass.
Cold.
Rotten.
Alive.
—
The forest stood around them.
But it was no ordinary forest.
The trees were wrong.
Too tall.
Too thin.
Their bark split open in places, revealing faint pulsing veins beneath—like something alive had been trapped inside them… and was still trying to breathe.
The ground was soft.
Not with soil.
With decay.
—
A faint smell lingered.
Blood.
Old blood.
—
Sunny swallowed.
His throat felt dry.
No—
Not dry.
Empty.
—
Then—
A voice.
—
Not just heard.
Felt.
—
It pressed into their skulls, crawling through their thoughts like something invasive.
Cold.
Ancient.
Hungry.
—
"Welcome… to your trial."
—
Sunny flinched.
His head throbbed.
—
The ground shifted.
Not naturally.
It parted.
—
Four shards revealed themselves.
Two before him.
Two before Cheng Sen.
—
They pulsed.
Not with light.
With something darker.
Something that seemed to breathe.
—
"Take them."
—
The command wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
—
Sunny's fingers twitched.
Without thinking—
He obeyed.
—
The moment his skin touched the shard—
Something slipped inside him.
—
Cold.
Sharp.
Watching.
—
His breath hitched.
—
"One is corrupted."
—
The voice continued.
Unmoved.
Uncaring.
—
"The other… will grant you power."
—
A pause.
Then—
A whisper that felt too close.
—
"…if you survive."
—
Sunny's heart slammed against his chest.
—
"Prove your worth before the Realm Sorcery."
—
The air grew heavier.
Pressing.
Suffocating.
—
"Fail…"
—
The forest seemed to lean closer.
—
"…and you will be forgotten."
—
Not dead.
Forgotten.
—
Sunny felt it.
That creeping emptiness again.
Stronger now.
As if the world was already starting to erase him.
—
"Refuse…"
—
The ground trembled.
Cracks spreading like veins.
—
"…and destroy a shard…"
—
The shards in his hand pulsed violently.
—
"You may gain power."
—
A beat.
Then—
A colder truth.
—
"…or become something that should not exist."
—
Silence.
—
Then—
The final command.
—
"Kill."
—
The word echoed.
Not in the air.
In his mind.
—
"Kill the realm creatures."
—
The voice vanished.
—
And something else took its place.
—
A presence.
—
Watching.
—
From the shadows, a figure emerged.
Slow.
Unnatural.
Like it wasn't walking—but being allowed to exist step by step.
—
Sunny's breath caught.
He knew that feeling.
—
The man smiled.
But his eyes didn't.
—
"My name is…" he said softly.
"…Kreal."
—
The forest seemed to darken.
—
"The god of protection."
—
The title twisted in Sunny's mind.
Wrong.
Everything about it was wrong.
—
Kreal's gaze lingered on them.
Too long.
Too deep.
—
Then—
He was gone.
—
Sunny stood frozen.
His thoughts scattered.
"…What was that…?"
—
No answer came.
—
Because Cheng Sen had already moved.
—
His expression had changed.
Hardened.
Focused.
—
"Move," he said.
Cold.
—
Sunny followed.
Because standing still felt worse.
—
They split.
Without a word.
Without a plan.
—
Sunny walked deeper into the forest.
—
Each step felt like a mistake.
—
The silence wasn't empty.
It was waiting.
—
Then—
A sound.
—
Not loud.
But close.
Too close.
—
Something lunged.
—
Sunny barely reacted.
His body twisted—
Just in time.
—
A creature crashed past him.
—
It wasn't natural.
—
A serpent.
But wrong.
Its body was bloated, scales cracked and leaking something dark. Four limbs jutted from its sides, bending at unnatural angles.
Its eyes—
Burned red.
Not with instinct.
With intent.
—
It turned.
Too fast.
—
Sunny stumbled back.
His grip tightened around the sword.
His mind screamed—
Run.
—
It attacked.
—
Too fast.
Too close.
—
He couldn't—
—
A sharp whistle cut the air.
—
An arrow.
—
It struck.
Deep.
Precise.
—
The creature froze.
Its body convulsed violently.
Bones snapping inward.
Skin collapsing.
—
Then—
It fell.
—
Dead.
—
Sunny stood there.
Shaking.
Breathing too fast.
—
Footsteps approached.
—
Slow.
Controlled.
—
Cheng Sen stepped out from the darkness.
—
His face was calm.
Too calm.
—
"You're alive," he said.
—
Sunny let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
"Yeah… I—thanks—"
—
"You don't need to thank me."
—
Flat.
Immediate.
—
"We're not allies."
—
Sunny froze slightly.
—
"We're just… not dead yet."
—
The words settled heavily.
—
Cheng Sen stepped forward.
Without hesitation, he handed Sunny a sword.
—
"Use it."
—
Sunny took it.
Because refusing felt like death.
—
Then—
The forest screamed.
—
Not with sound.
With movement.
—
Everything shifted.
—
Dozens—
No—
Hundreds—
Of creatures poured from the shadows.
—
Too many.
Far too many.
—
Their eyes burned.
Their mouths opened too wide.
Bodies twisted, broken, crawling, running, dragging themselves forward with impossible hunger.
—
And then—
He appeared again.
—
Kreal.
—
Standing behind them.
Watching.
—
"Prove your worth," he whispered.
—
His voice slid into their minds.
—
"The sorcery…"
A pause.
A smile that wasn't human.
—
"…is watching."
—
He vanished.
—
Again.
—
Sunny's grip tightened.
His heart pounded so hard it hurt.
—
Beside him—
Cheng Sen stepped forward.
—
His eyes ignited.
A faint, unnatural glow bleeding into the darkness.
—
His voice dropped.
Low.
Certain.
—
"This…"
A breath.
—
"…is where it begins."
—
The ground trembled.
—
Not from the creatures.
—
From something beneath them.
—
Something vast.
—
A shadow stretched.
Not cast—
Born.
—
It swallowed the forest.
The creatures.
The light.
—
Sunny looked up.
—
And his heart stopped.
—
Because this time—
He understood.
—
They were not the hunters.
—
They were prey.
—
The world cracked.
—
And everything went black.